Mmmmm... More Local Produce....

http://www.bierbrewery.com/

So I stopped in this joint today and tried a few of their wares. I tried their Farmgirl (Saison) and it was pretty good. But I must admit that I didn't take a whole lot of notice of it because the next sample I tried was the DFGIPA. Now, I have zero idea what the DFG stands for. I'd push for "Damn Fucking Good". Solid A-. Maybe even an A. And I'm a damn picky beer drinker. I don't think I've ever had an A+ beer.

This beer is one very strong IPA. Amazing nose. I just knew I was going to love it before it hit my tongue.

VERY hoppy, lots of that glorious pine-y bitterness and just darn tasty!! Nice strong, lingering hoppy taste on your tongue after you swallow. Not much to add to that description, really. I just love hops. And this sucker delivers!

Now I'm not sure that it's really worth $18 for 64oz of beer (plus buying the growler). Even if it IS 9% ABV (WTF???) And I'm sure not sure I'm going to do it again anytime soon. But I'm not disappointed or angry that I spent it. Not at all. Much like my favorite Bourbon (Bookers), it's spendy, but worth it upon reflection.

My only real problem is that I'm trying to decide if drinking the entire 64oz growler in one sitting by myself is a good idea or not.

I mean, if it goes flat overnight, that would really, really suck.

More Beer Blogging

A few more down the hatch. First up, the Wetback Beer Rejects!

Dos Equis (light & dark), Sol & Tecate. All suck. Solid Ds or Fs all around. I didn't care enough to make notes, I just know I put lime in to try and help them out, to no avail. I'll be sticking to Corona Extra with lime from now on for my semi-tasteless Wetback Cervesas.

On to some KrautBrau: Konig Ludwig Weissbier. I'm digging this one, as evidenced by this being my second six-pack of it. A "Royal Bavarian Hefeweizen". It has a typical wheat beer taste, but there's somehow a bite on the back of my tongue that I really enjoy. Fresh, clean taste with a clean finish. I'd describe it more, but I've been eating really yummy dark chocolate-covered almonds that are rolled in cane sugar & sea salt (I love TRADER JOES!), so I don't trust my tongue's impressions right now. Solid B, maybe B+ or A-.

I'm also on my second six-pack of Leffe. This one's harder to describe, a Belgian beer with a strong depth of complex flavour. I'll try and remember to edit this post when I'm having my next one. I'm leaning towards A- on memory but I'll double check later.

Luckily, there is a new brewery opening about a mile from my workplace. It's called the TRITON BREWING COMPANY. They have a tasting room open right now, albeit without any of their own offerings quite yet. It looks like a decent place to hang out and I'm certainly going to give it a shot after they get their own brews going. I'm headed to Farcebook to add them to keep abreast of their news and stuffis.

Lastly, my very own 1st MR. BEER mix batch has its last six-pack in the fridge. The next-to-last six-pack wasn't too bad. It went from a D- (which was maybe too generous to meself) to a solid C. Considering the "vintage" of the ingredients that went in, that's probably better than I should have expected. But another few weeks of cold lagering and I'll see if there's any improvement. I imagine it should be maybe a B-.

I'm probably attending a beer making class Tuesday and maybe picking up tricks for my second MR. BEER batch. Then it's on to more real beer making. Maybe even a full grain batch instead of using mixes or extracts. I need more kitchen space for even-temperature fermentation. Oh well. We'll see.

Other beer news:

I put in an order for the Schlafly's Pumpkin Ale, but haven't heard if it came in yet.

I also cannot wait for the TRADER JOE'S VINTAGE ALE this year. I only bought one or two bottles last fall/winter season, but I might get a case this year. I imagine it would be awesome with pot roast or roast beef.

If anyone has found anything interesting lately, feel free to post.

Beer Blogging

I think I'm going to start keeping track of my beer trials (and errors) on here. It's not like anyone's blogging much and at least this can serve as a diary or sorts for me to keep track of my various tastings.

First off: my own creation, a batch of Mr. Beer West Coast Pale Ale mix. Even after something like two months in the cabinet and then a few days in the fridge, still ridiculously cidery. Not really at all potable, at least to me. It tastes like Michelob and bad apple cider mixed. I'm going to let the last six-pack sit in the cabinet for another month and then do a ton of cold-lagering in the fridge in a last-ditch effort to save it. So far, a D--- Oh well...

I still have not started Mr. Beer Batch Two. But I have a reputably-good beer-making kit on hold at the local homebrew store that I will pick up after I take a class. Then, hopefully, I can start brewing my own beer and get decent results.

Other recent trys:
Leinenkugel Summer Shandy: Lemonade & beer mixed. Pretty decent, would be great to down two or three bottles right after working on the lawn on one of these ridiculously hot days. C+++, maybe a B-

Which led to me buying Leinenkugel Sunset Wheat: Vile garbage. I could not force myself to choke down a single full bottle's worth. I gave away 11 of the 12 pack, if that tells you anything. F-

Hoegaarden Witbeir-Biere Blanche: another wheat beer, spicy and light-tasting. Another thirst-quencher. Decent mouthfeel and flavor on the tongue. B

I really need to get to some of the local breweries, too. There are at least four close-by non-chain breweries in I'd love to try. The hard part is finding that dang designated driver.

My Brother's 1st Crafted Beer

Is pretty dang good. It foams REAL quick though... I spilled some not expecting it to foam so fast and it overflowed out of my glass.

It has an odd flavour profile. It starts off... something. Sort of a pale ale? Then you get hit with a burst of citrus. And that lingers, but not overly so. The finish seems to change too. Before I tasted more clean hops, now I'm tasting bitter grapefruit. Maybe that's a sediment issue?

Because it doesn't appear to have been filtered; there are small chunks in my glass. But I like that. I intend to bottle condition all of my beer if I ever get around to making it. I really like the Sierra Nevada Pale Ale and that's strong on citrus and non-filtered too.

Jason said he modeled his beer "target" on Sam Adams Summer Ale. But I like this one better than the Sam's Summer.

Good job, dude. Now I need to get started on my own.

UPDATE: (a whole four minutes after the post) The second beer poured very nicely in a controlled manner. Though now the head is gone. Need a happy medium... how do you get head to appear in a glass after it's poured?

You Spilled Your Pumpkin In My Beer!

Or, something like that.

I received an email from Vine & Table up in Carmel talking about a pumpkin beer. That intrigued so I trekked up there and got three different single bottles of PUMPKIN beer / ale / whatever.

This here Schlafly Pumpkin Ale was the first one I tried out.

Quite spicy on the nose, on the tongue and in the aftertaste. I don't taste a lot of pumpkin compared to the traditional pumpkin spice notes but it's certainly present. Sort of an undertaste, if that's even a word.

I read a reviewer that said he didn't taste the beer. I have to disagree. To me, the beer is like the vanilla ice cream base in Cookies & Cream ice cream. It's not the star of the show, but it's always there. You certainly aren't going to confuse drinking this with a smooth liquor or a milkshake!

I really like the label. This scan cuts it off, but to the left it says "Bottled with love on" and then gives a "birthday" for the bottle. Something about that really amuses me.

Overall, I give this a solid 4 out of 5. And the very good taste of a very weird beer makes me think I need to try out some of this brewery's other offerings. (http://schlafly.com)

Other reviews to follow.

(And THIS sounds wonderful.)

Hey... Nawww... I Won't Ask...

WHISKEYFEST!

WHISKEYFEST!

ONE MORE TIME: WHISKEYFEST!!!!!

How did I get through life thus far without ever attending? I must remedy this next spring! I just signed up for their email news bulletins. Denis from Vine and Table told me about this... hundreds and hundreds of whiskeys to sample. I don't know what the VIP part is, but sign me up! It doesn't appear that tickets are on sale yet. But this should be killer.

Also, the Indiana Microbrewers Festival! Another must-attend event. I think at the VERY least Shane, Phil and Troy and I must go. It's in just a few weeks. We just need a designated driver... hmmmmm... who the hell do I know that would do that?

Now, enough blogging on alcohol. Folks might think I have a problem. ("Too late!") I'll show them, though. Now where's my cigar and martini?

Great! Now I'm Gonna Need Another Fridge!

To hold all my home-brewed beer! My brother Dave bought me a home-brewing kit for Christmas. The mind boggles with possibilities AND I have a home-brewing store a few miles down the road.

I don't see my weight going down anytime soon unless I start seriously exercising...

Luckily, I can only make one 2 gallon batch every 2 weeks. That's 21 12oz. bottles. That's three bottles every 2 days if I don't share. And I likely won't.

Two and a half six-packs... that's around $21. This might just be seriously economical here...

SHANE! If you would be so kind, please start saving some empty beer bottles for me. Both twist-offs and NON-twist-offs would be fine until I find out more info. The kit comes with caps for plastic bottles but I'm a beer snob and only drink out of glass bottles.

DAVE! I fear you've created a monster already and I haven't even started brewing yet!
But I love you anyway!

Too Rich For My Blood...

I'm too cheap to buy the Bookers Bourbon I love, let alone this:

http://www.timesreporter.com/index.php?ID=74950

Jay? Dave? Wanna help a brother out? :P

Whiskey is just distilled beer, after all. I think a beverage more in the middle of the two would be interesting to try, at least.

Interesting note, from the Samuel Adams website:
"Due to legal restrictions, Samuel Adams Utopias™ can not be sold in the states of Alabama, Arkansas, Florida, Georgia, Idaho, Iowa, Missouri, New Hampshire, North Carolina, Ohio, Oregon, South Carolina, Washington, and West Virginia."

(Never would have guessed so many states in the South would be so pussified as to prohibit sales of any "weak whiskey".)